you the whole story straight, to get out of this
scrape. In the first place, my name is Arthur Chambers. I was up in the
world once, had money, and was respectable. But drink changed all that.
Now anybody can buy me for a few dollars, and that is what Sefton did.
He came to me about a week ago, and told me that a detective was down
here from up north nosing around for this Mitchel. He said it was
important to an employer of his up in New York to have this detective
balked; that he was hired to do it, and to make him lose time; that
time, in some way, was an important item."

"You say," interrupted Mr. Barnes, "that Sefton told you he was hired by
some one in New York to throw me off the scent?"

"That's what he said," replied Chambers. Mr. Barnes easily guessed who
was employing Sefton, and once more he paid the tribute of admiration
for the caution and ingenious scheming of Mr. Mitchel.

"Go on," said the detective.

"There an't much more to tell. Sefton hired me to play off that I was
Mitchel, and he gave me a cock-and-bull yarn to feed you with about a
woman named Rose Mitchel."

"What was that story?"

"Say, look here," said Chambers, his confidence and cunning returning as
he felt himself out of danger of arrest, "you don't want that fairy
tale. You would rather have the true story, wouldn't you?"

"Certainly."

"Well, I'm an old-timer, I am. There an't much that's happened in the
Crescent that I couldn't remember, if I was paid for it."

"See here, my man, you are not dealing with Sefton now. You tell me what
I want to know, and if I find it is true, I'll pay you for it. But if
you play any tricks, I'll make it warm for you."

"That's all right. Suppose I begin by telling you that this Rose
Mitchel, that you say was murdered, was known down here chiefly as Rose
Montalbon. 'La Montalbon,' she was generally called."

"La Montalbon?" repeated Mr. Barnes. "Then, was she an actress?"

"Actress? Well, I guess she was, considerable. But not on the stage. No,
she kept a gambling-den on Royal Street. Fitted up like a palace too,
and many a young fool has lost his last dime in that house."

"But what about Mitchel? Do you know whether he was connected with her
in any way?"

"I can't give you that dead straight. There was some mystery there. I
used to go to the Royal Street place, and I knew Mitchel in a sort of
way. He was always hanging around there. Then there was a while that he
didn't show up, and then